Sugar Coated Lemons
by Lienh
Summary: Two people who lead completely different lives are pulled together one night by a chance of fate. They didn't expect to see each other again. However, will a sequence of seeminly coincidental meetings change their future? SS Pairing. R&R!
1. Wrong Place, Right Time

**Sugar-coated Lemons**

Chapter One: Wrong Place, Right Time

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it. CCS, that is. Colour coded signs...yes...xp

Note: I'm from Canada, so I'm making the legal age 19 and not 21 like in the USA. ;D

* * *

She met him on her 18th birthday. It was the wrong place at the right time, and he seemed like the perfect distraction.

"Hey!" The young girl called out to a tall, chestnut-haired guy that passed her on the dock. The waves lapped gently on the shore in the distance.

He paused and turned around, a bottle of beer frozen before his lips. "Yeah?"

She blinked as his deep amber eyes fell onto her. "Um...think you could share a sip?"

The guy seemed to snort, and went to pass her, when she called out again.

"Wait! I just want a sip! It's my birthday, and I just wanted to..."

His amber eyes gazed down at her, as he seemed to finally consider her request. "Your birthday, huh? How old are you turning?"

The question seemed to make her uncomfortable, as she shifted slightly, her eyes falling to the wood beneath her. "Um...eighteen."

He smirked. "You're still underage then. Sorry."

Said birthday girl pouted, and glared at him with narrowed emerald eyes. "It's not like I'm getting drunk or anything. Besides, I bet you drank all the time when you were my age!"

This seemed to strike a cord, and he frowned. "Girls like you shouldn't get into the habit of drinking. It screws you up."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that you're screwed up?"

"Maybe."

The girl reached her hand out towards him, and motioned with her fingers. "Come on, then. Let me wallow in this temporary insanity with you."

The bottle was cold, but not heavy with half of the liquid previously consumed. Staring at it curiously, she slowly raised it to her mouth.

The effect was instantaneous.

"Agh! Gross!" She quickly sprayed a mouthful of beer over the dock, coughing as the taste lingered in her mouth. "How can you drink that stuff?"

The guy laughed as he watched her continuously spit up remnants of the bitter tasting alcohol. "You get used to it. The purpose of beer isn't to please your taste buds, anyhow."

She wrinkled her nose, and handed the bottle back to him. "You can have it. At least now I'll know better when I _do_ come of age."

"Glad to hear it, babe."

"My name isn't _babe, dude."_

The guy rolled his eyes. "Touchy. Not like I know your name anyways. It's not everyday some crazy highschool kid demands that I give her my beer."

The girl's face glowered as she pointed a finger accusingly at him. "I'm not a kid! And my name is _Sakura_, so learn to use it."

He raised his eyebrows. "What, no last name? I wasn't aware we were so familiar with each other as to be on a first name basis already, _Sakura-chan. _

Sakura shrugged. "It's not like I'll see you again anyhow. Who cares about formalities?"

"Well in that case, call me _Xiao Lang, _Sakura."

She smiled. "You're Chinese, huh? It's nice to meet you, Xiao Lang."

He smirked, before lowering himself beside her on the dock. "So what's a girl like you doing at a place like this on her birthday? Not exactly the ideal party place."

"My dad had to work, and my older brother is off at University. They couldn't celebrate my birthday with me this year." Sakura frowned, before looking out at the water. "But it's okay."

Xiao Lang tilted his head at her before asking, "what about your friends?"

"Friends?" Sakura snorted, and pulled her knees towards her chest. "Tomoyo-chan is my only friend, and her mom wouldn't let her see me outside of school because my poor social standing might be a bad influence on her."

"Poor social standing?"

"My dad sent me to some prestigious high school, thinking that I would have a better chance at a good university that way. All the kids come from rich families though, so I'm the oddball. The ones who don't bully me are too scared to be seen with me by the others, so Tomoyo-chan is the only one I have. Her family's pretty high up and she doesn't care what other people think about her. I'm lucky to have a friend at all."

"I see." Xiao Lang gazed at me for awhile, before turning out to look at the water. "I guess being her is better than sulking at home."

Sakura smiled, glad that he seemed to understand. "Definitely. Besides, if I hadn't have come here I wouldn't have been able to experience the terrible taste of beer for the first time! You have contributed to one of my valuable experiences in life. Thank you, Xiao Lang."

His mouth tilted up a little, but his eyes remained strangely guarded. "No problem."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, gazing at the moon shining over the water. A laugh could be heard from someone walking down the street beside the beach. The dock creaked slightly as the water pressed gently against it. Sakura sighed in contentment, leaning back on her arms. Xiao Lang rested comfortably beside her, the beer laying forgotten between them.

A phone beeped loudly in the night, startling the young couple. "Oh, that's mine!" Sakura exclaimed, before digging in her jacket pocket.

Xiao Lang seemed to snap back to reality, and swiftly stood up. At Sakura's questioning look, he smiled weakly at her. "This temporary insanity has been nice, but I have to be somewhere, so..."

"Oh." Her face fell slightly, before she offered another weak smile back. "Well, thanks for your company." Her phone continued beeping in her hand, ignored.

"Sure. Happy Birthday, Sakura."

"Goodbye, Xiao Lang."

The last thing her heard her say as he was walking away was, "Hi dad. Just sitting at the beach. I'm fine. Thanks. Yes, I'll be home by one. See you."

_Sakura, _he thought. What an interesting girl.

A sudden impulse took over him, and he couldn't help but glance back towards the end of the dock.

Emerald eyes glowed back at him, a pale face illuminated in the moonlight.

A little startled that he had been caught, Xiao Lang quickly turned back around and walked briskly up the beach. _It's alright, _he told himself. _You'll never see her again. _

If only he knew how wrong he was.

Later that night, Sakura dreamed of bitter liquid, amber eyes, and the soft sound of waves hitting the shore as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

An almost empty beer bottle stood on her night table.

_Xiao Lang._

* * *

A/N: This idea just randomly popped in my head after I finished reading Beauty is the Beast online. I know it seems that Sakura is like pouring out her soul to some random soul, but you'd be surprised at the life stories you'll share with people you may only know for a day or so. I was bored, and didn't have anything to read so I decided to write. I'm not sure if I'll continue it, but we'll see...


	2. Right Place, Wrong Time

**Sugar-coated Lemons**

Chapter 2: Right Place, Wrong Time

Disclaimer: Seriously, get over it. I'm not about to own Sakura. Unless of course I become a part of CLAMP. Then maybe I could buy a few shares. ;D

A/N: I've decided to do four sections for this story, and they'll probably just be drabbles of sorts that take place a few months - or even years - apart.. So there will be two more chapters after this. Sorry to disappoint, but I think I'm going to try and work my up to a full length story. I'll have more time in the summer to write, so...it'll hopefully work out better that way. Enjoy!

* * *

"You have got to be _kidding _me."

"Sakura! I thought that you were-"

"In Tomoeda? I was, but I thought I'd come back early to surprise you. Guess I got more than I bargained for."

The young woman glared through slitted emerald eyes at the flushed face of a handsome, dark haired man.

A red haired women sat across from him, successfully avoiding Sakura's gaze. What looked like a diamond necklace was clenched tightly in her fisted hands, as she stared at the table.

"Look, it's not what it looks like. We were just-"

"Exchanging tokens of affection between childhood chums? Not likely. And the last time I checked, guys didn't give their female friends thousand dollar necklaces. Correct me if I'm wrong."

A stony silence was all that met her accusing remark.

"Well then, that clears everything up doesn't it? At least I can get my stuff from your house before I leave. I might as well seeing as how I'm here already. Excuse me."

With that, Sakura strode upstairs leaving two guilt stricken adults behind her.

"Soshi..?"

"What?!"

The woman clutching the necklace gasped, and seemed to shrink away from him a little. "It's just...you told me it would be perfectly fine. She was supposed to drop by here two days from now. If I would've known..."

"Yeah well, there's a lot of if's in life. Let's go and let the bitch collect her stuff. She never let me sleep with her anyways. It's not like I was going to marry her."

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura came back down to an empty kitchen and a forgotten jewellery box. Holding back her tears, she turned away from it and finally allowed the door to slam behind her.

To think that two years of her life had been wasted on that asshole. It looked like her twenty first birthday wasn't going to be all roses after all.

"Another, please."

The barman looked at the petite girl doubtfully, before slowly giving her another martini. She was on her third, and didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

Sakura glanced half-heartedly around the club. She seemed to be the only person not having fun. Everyone was either dancing, flirting, or...never mind. This is what she got for being so naive all the time. Tomoyo had tried to warn her. She should have listened. Sakura sighed and downed the martini. They didn't seem to last long enough. Though she knew in the back of her head somewhere that tomorrow morning wasn't going to be pretty, the consequences didn't seem to matter right now. She just wanted to forget everything. And with her mind buzzing, she wasn't too picky about how to go about it.

Dancing would be the perfect thing..

Weaving her way through the crowds, Sakura picked up the beat of the song, and began swaying to the music. She slowly let herself relax into the mood of the club as her worries slipped away.

A few minutes later, she felt someone sidle up next to her. They brushed against her lightly; then universal invitation.

Feeling daring, Sakura put a smile on her face and turned around...

...and stopped dead in the middle of the floor.

Two pairs of eyes widened together, as the young adults stared at each other.

"You!" The chestnut haired man exclaimed, raising a finger to point at her.

"I was thinking the same thing," Sakura commented wryly.

He frowned slightly and quickly looked her up and down. "You don't exactly seem dressed for the occasion."

Sakura scoffed. "Hardly. I just came back from my boy- this person's house. I didn't really plan to come to a club tonight, but...you know how it is."

Amber eyes considered her carefully, as if hearing her unspoken words. "Yeah...I know how it is." He smirked then, and grabbed her arm lightly. "So you gonna dance with me or what?"

A chuckle escaped her lips, as she let herself smile again. "Why not...Xiao Lang."

His eyes flickered, and his smirk widened. "You have a good memory, Sakura."

"Right back at you." Following him further into the crowd, Sakura contemplated on her newfound companion. What were the odds of running into him at a place like this? The last time she had seen him was...

A whole different world away.

She didn't have to be Soshi's girlfriend here. She didn't have to be the highschool dropout, or the women struggling to afford groceries for the week. Nobody knew her, and she knew nobody. Tonight, she was just Sakura.

And for Xiao Lang, that was enough.

Two hours and many dances later, Sakura found herself sitting in the park down the street from the club. Faint music could be heard if she listened hard enough.

"So, what happened this time?"

Startled out of her thoughts, Sakura jerked her attention back to the man beside her. "P-puurdon?" The alcohol that still stirred in her blood mad her speech slightly slurred.

"Before you came to the club. What happened that made you want to get drunk? I'm not stupid, you know."

Sakura smiled sadly, and turned to look at the empty street. "Oh...right. I had almost forgotten, you know. Which is what I was trying to do anyways, but..." She sighed, and drew her knees to her chest.

"But?" Xiao Lang prodded gently, and waited for her to continue.

"My boyfriend was cheating on me," she blurted suddenly, before falling silent again.

Xiao Lang eyed her cautiously, before offering a hesitant response. "And?"

"And I just wanted to get away. I've been...I mean I _was_ dating him for two years, so it felt like a waste of time, you know? That's all."

"I see."

The silence seemed to scream at both of them, before Sakura suddenly spoke up again. "What about you?"

The chestnut haired man looked at her in surprise. "What about me?"

"It's just... I always end up talking about myself, and I don't actually know anything about you. It just seems like you have the advantage."

He seemed to smile bitterly before answering. "There's nothing interesting about me that you would want to hear. I'd prefer it if you talked about yourself."

"But I want to hear it. Really." Her bright green eyes gazed at him imploringly, and he found himself wincing.

"Well, if you insist. But it'll put you to sleep, honest."

Sakura smiled. "I doubt it."

So for the rest of the night, Sakura listened to the soothing voice of Xiao Lang as he told her about his family's business, and how they were always expecting more out of him.

And the pair took consolation in the other as they watched the stars glimmer faintly in the polluted air.

Sometimes it wasn't so bad; being at the right place at the wrong time. And that night Sakura went home to once again dream of Amber eyes, martinis, and the grey sky with fading lights.

_Happy Birthday, Sakura._

* * *

A/N: Well, it didn't end like how I wanted it to. Oh well. If you can't do the math, there's three years between chapter one and two. And so Sakura is now 21, and we have yet to find out Syaoran's exact age. Though we can assume he's not too much older than Sakura. And don't worry: there's a reason why I'm using only his Chinese name. R&R!

Review Responses: 

**zimian19: **Thank you, and I hope I'll improve too. I look forward to your next "formal" review!

**cherrysakurawolf: **Well I've updated. Hope you liked it

**Luvia: **Thank you. 3 And a legal _adult _is 18, but drinking age is 19. Weird. huh? PFFFT. Oh well.

**Mrs. Radcliffe 13: **I'm glad you think so! I shall try my best.


	3. Wrong Place, Wrong Time

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Sugar-coated Lemons

Chapter 3: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Disclaimer: Five letters- C L A M P

A/N: Yes, I know it's been awhile. School's ended so I finally decided to put my meteocre writing skills to use. Hah. I do have an idea on how I want this story to end, but it's not really detailed yet so the last chapter might take awhile… Anyways, hope you enjoy this one! O; R&R

* * *

She got it! The job she had been trying to get for the past year was finally hers: Miss Kinomoto, Secretary of Li Corporation! She had managed to finish up the few highschool courses she was missing, and applied. Life was finally starting to look up for Sakura.

There were two reasons Sakura had applied for a position at this particular company. One, their eduational requirements weren't as high as others. She didn't exactly have a PHD. Two, the entry-level position paid quite well starting off - 17.50/hr. That was a far cry from her last 10.50/hr waitressing job. Tips could only get you so far. Whoever the new owner of the company was, this "Li Syaoran", she certainly wanted to thank him for changing their regulations.

Walking briskly into the building in her new suit, her chin up, Sakura walked in the elevator, and pushed number 8. It just figured she was running late on her first day. According to the forms she'd received by fax, her new boss was a Hirragizawa Eriol. Sakura hoped he wasn't too much of a tyrant. She knew he was the vice president of the company, and that it was pure luck he had needed a new secretary mere days after Sakura had handed in her application. Fate finally seemed to be smiling down at her.As the elevator opened on floor 8, Sakura looked down the hallway to see which way the room count went. She heard that all the big shots had their offices at the top of the building. According to her papers, she was looking for room 822. Glancing quickly back and forth, she finally found it. Two doors stood close beside each other. Quickly disregarding the 823 one, she knocked sharply on the other door. Holding her breath, she failed to notice the name tags under the door numbers.

"Come in," a voice called from inside.

Gathering her courage, Sakura slowly opened the door. "I'm sorry I'm late, sir," she explained quickly as she let herself in. A little scared to see his expression, she looked down at her feet as she continued. "It's just that the bus was late, so I had to get a taxi, but it has hard finding one and-"

"…Sakura?"

The woman's head snapped up so fast that she practically gave herself whiplash. Blinking repeatedly, Sakura wondered if she hallucinating.

"You…are Sakura, right? Either that, or you're her twin." Amber eyes blinked astonishingly back at her.

Speechless, Sakura blurted out the first thing that came to mind… "You're not Hirragizawa, Eriol." And then she internally smacked herself right afterwards.

The man seemed to smile at that. "No, I'm certainly not. You must be his new…secretary." He tilted his head slightly, as he seemed to ponder the title. "How did you manage up in my office?"

"Oh…I was just following the information my forms said. Hirragizawa, Eriol: Room 822. Is that correct? Maybe I read the door sign wrong… I was kind of in a hurry. Your offices are right beside each other."

The person in front of her seemed to be amused at this. "No you have right room. This is 822. However, you have the wrong information. Eriol's office is room 823. The head secretary must have made a typo as she was making up your forms. Would you like me to take you to Eriol?"

Sakura blinked again. "Oh. That would be really nice of you. It's just that I'm even later now, and I really wanted to make a good impression. What if he decides that he wants a different secretary now?" Letting her thoughts get away with her, Sakura started to panic. "Oh gosh, I've screwed up the best opportunity in my life! I knew I should've set my alarm clock earlier. Nii-chan said-"

"Sakura, calm down. Eriol's not going to fire you for being a few minutes late. He isn't a tyrant you know."

Funny how he used the exact word she was thinking of earlier. "Well, that's good to hear. Then, could you…?"

He smiled. "Sure. Follow me."

"Thank you…Xiao Lang." After saying his name, Sakura finally realized what a weird situation she had landed herself in. Xiao Lang, the Xiao Lang she had randomly run into at the club last year, was a big shot at Li Corporation? How did that work? And didn't he tell her last time they met that he was going to take over his family's business because his father died? And the owner of this company was Li Syaoran. That certainly didn't add up. Unless, of course-

"Sakura."

"Huh?" Xiao Lang's deep voice startled Sakura, and she lost her train of thought.

"Are you alright? You might want to take a few minutes and try to pull yourself together unless you want to seem like a complete space out. Eriol's a good guy, but even he has expectations for empoloyees."

The young woman nodded, and forced herself to take a calming breath. "I'm okay. Let's do this."

He smirked at her, before knocking on room 823.

At the same time, Sakura suddenly noticed the small plaque underneath the door number: _Hirragizawa Eriol - Vice President. _She briefly wondered what Xiao Lang's plaque said, when she heard a voice from inside the office. "What is it?"

Xiao Lang stepped inside the door, and Sakura quietly crept behind him. His large frame pretty much hid her from whoever was inside.

"Eriol, got your new secretary here for you. It seems Nakuru made a typo and gave her the wrong room number. She ended up coming to my office instead, so don't hold it against her that she's late."

A little neverous, Sakura was just working up the courage to step around Xiao Lang and greet her new employer, when a voice called to her.

"Sakura? You can come forward now."

Blushing, the woman walked up to Eriol's desk and dipped her head. "It's nice meeting you Hirragizawa-san. I look forward to working with you." Looking up after her introduction, she saw a man with a fair complexion and dark hair that had a hint of blue. He wore round glasses that covered dark eyes, which were currently looking behind her in shock.

Sakura blinked in confusion, as he seemed to ignore her introduction. "Sir…?"

In turn, Eriol raised his eyebrows at Xiao Lang and a smirk slowly worked its way upon his face. "Sakura? You sure familiarized yourself quickly with my secretary, Syaoran."

Said girl furrowed her eyebrows as Eriol addressed Xiao Lang. Syaoran? But that was the name of the president…why was her boss calling Xiao Lang Syaoran?

In turn, Xiao Lang snorted. "Give it a rest, Eriol. I met her before she came to work for Li Corporation. So you can wipe that smirk of your face this instant, or I'll do it for you."

This didn't seem to faze the grinning man, as he switched his attention to Sakura. "Kinomoto-san."

Sakura jumped, and tore her gaze away from Xiao Lang, her mind spinning with uncertainties. "Yes, Hirragizawa-san?"

"When did you happen to meet Syaoran? It's not every day after all, that I hear him addressing fellow employees on a first name basis."

The girl blinked, and spoke slowly. "Syaoran…? Er, the last time I saw Xiao Lang was about a year ago on my birthday. We ran into each other at a club, and recognized one another from before."

Eriol raised his eyebrows at this. "Before?"

Sakura fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, unsure how to go on. "Erm. I first met him-"

"Eriol. Stop harassing her. You're going to scare the poor girl before she even starts working for you. I'm going back to my office." Xiao Lang paused, before turning his attention back to the blushing girl in the room. "Sakura."

She jumped again, before looking at him with wide eyes. "Yes?"

"Come to my office after your shift. There's a few things I have to discuss with you."

She nodded with a small 'yes', and watched as he left the room.

The only thoughts going through Sakura's head at the time was _Syaoran. Li, Syaoran. Xiao Lang is Syaoran? Which means, of course, that Xiao Lang is the president of the company. Which means that this is the family business he was talking about. Which means…I just humiliated myself in front of the president of the company!_

Sakura put her head in her hands and groaned, forgetting that another person was still in the room. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…" she muttered to herself.

"So, Sakura-san. May I call you that? How exactly did you come to meet our Syaoran?"

* * *

A/N: And, I'm gonna end it there. XD The next chapter will be the last. I thank all the people who reviewd last time, and especially the ones who reviewed for both chapters! You guys really inspre me to keep continuing the story. I tend to flake off after the first couple of chapters…Also, if there are any typos it's because the computer I used to write this with didn't have spell checker. Anyways, I'm WAY to lazy to look up all the reviews from chapter two so you'll just have to take my word that I read them all and mentally responded. XD Until next time! And again, R&R!


	4. Right Place, Right Time

**Sugar Coated Lemons**

Chapter 4

The Right Place At the Right Time

A/N: Okay, okay. I _know _I said this would be the last chapter. But when I got to thinking, I wanted Tomoyo and Eriol to have a slightly bigger role. So this chapter is going to be where Tomoyo re-enters the picture. You might want to recall the first chapter for this to make sense. Again, the next chapter will be the last for _sure,_ and probably short. It'll be just to wrap things up. Again, sorry for taking too long to update. I thank everyone for their wonderful reviews!

* * *

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. Let's get on with it shall we, CLAMP?

"Sakura-san, can you take care of these for me?"

"Sure, Eriol-san." The emerald-eyed girl smiled and walked to her desk.

It had been a few months since she had come to work for Hirragizawa, Eriol at Li Corp. It still seemed surreal to her sometimes. Xiao Lang was _the Li, Syaoran._ She forgot sometimes. It was hard to see the cold, slightly drunk boy she had met on the docks all those years ago in the man that ran business meetings, and wore immaculate suits.

He had grown up.

Sakura sighed as she typed absent-mindedly. Staring at her computer screen, she pondered the last few years. It didn't seem possible for someone as average as her to get a job like this as the secretary of one of the country's most influential business tycoons. A business tycoon that she just happened to be sort of friends with because of previous encounters. And she never suspected a thing.

"Sakura-san," a deep voice called out from the other side of the office. It has twice the size of her living room. "Come here for a moment, please."

She obediently walked to Eriol's desk and stood attentively. "Yes, sir?"

He looked up briefly before sliding a few pictures towards her. "I need an opinion from a woman…which one of these do you think someone would like as a gift?"

Sakura glanced towards the pictures, and gasped. All of them displayed expensive looking jewellery! Her eyes roamed the sparkling necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. She couldn't help but wonder who her boss was planning to give such an extravagant gift to. Switching her attention back to him, she hesitated a moment, before asking. "Um…Eriol-san?"

"Yes?" He was looking expectantly at her.

Sakura gulped. "It's just…I was wondering who you were planning on giving something like this to. I mean, depending on who it is, I might choose a different piece of jewellery. If you know what I mean."

Eriol smiled kindly. "Actually, I was hoping you'd ask. I was trying to choose something for my fiancé. Her birthday is coming up soon, and I'm not sure what to get her. She's financially stable herself, so there's nothing she really needs. I figured jewellery is a pretty safe bet."

"You have a fiancé! That's so sweet!" Sakura grinned and leaned closer. "When's the wedding?"

Eriol chuckled and shrugged. "We're not sure yet, actually. She's very busy these days with her new autumn line out, so it's hard to pick a date…hopefully within the next couple of years. We got engaged just before you came here, as it happens."

"Autumn line? What does she do for a living?"

"She's a fashion designer; A very good one, at that. I really admire her talent." The young man's eyes seemed to soften, as he talked about the girl he loved.

Sakura tilted her head, and reconsidered the pictures. "Well…since you guys are obviously close, I might actually suggest not going with ordinary jewellery. It's kind of impersonal, unless you had something custom made. That could work. When were you planning on giving it to her?"

"Well, tonight actually." Eriol looked at her sheepishly, before gazing at the photos. "I suppose it's too late to customize something now. I should've thought of that earlier."

"It's alright. Jewellery can still work! Tell me some more about her, and I might be able to help you."

Eriol cleared his throat, and pondered Sakura's request. "She's…a little eccentric. Although her fashion sense is impeccable, she likes to make up ridiculous outfits for her friends. She can't cook at all. Oh! But her singing is also amazing. You'll fall in love with her voice right away. And she has this video taping hobby that I have no idea where she picked it up…"

Sakura listened closely as her boss went on, and wondered why these all of these traits registered a dim lightbulb in her head. Pushing that to the back of her mind, she tried to think of a suitable gift for a fashion designer that sung and loved to record. Remembering to keep in mind Eriol's extensive budget, Sakura tried to think big.

"…Always so gentle and soft spoken. She smiles a lot, but has this crazy laugh…"

Looking at the examples of jewellery once more, Sakura noticed a small picture inside of another one displaying a music note. It was attached to a white gold chain that twisted delicately, and had a clasp in the shape of a piano. Having a strange thought, Sakura spoke up.

"Your fiancé…does she play any instruments? When she sings, I mean."

Eriol blinked a couple times, before gathering his thoughts. "Now that you mention it, she has played the piano for me once…"

Smiling in triumph, Sakura put her finger on the music note necklace. "I think you should go with this one then. It's simple, and goes with her personality. The clasp also relates, so it will seem like you picked it personally for her. To give it an added touch, you could have someone engrave a simple message on the back of the music note. It looks big enough."

"Ah, thank you Sakura-san. Now that I think about it, that one is obviously the best choice. It's good to have a girl's opinion, though!" Eriol smiled, before tilting his head in thought. "You guys would get along really well, you know - You and my fiancee. I should introduce you two sometime. She usually doesn't come down here, but I think I could work something out. I overheard you saying to one of your co-workers that you recently moved back to Tokyo before applying here? Making more friends is always a fun thing."

Sakura was a little taken back, but gratified at the same time. "Oh! You don't have to really. But she does sound very sweet! If she has nothing to do one day, I'd be delighted to keep her company…But wouldn't you rather spend time with her if she ever came down?"

"Oh, we spend lots of time together out of work hours. She loves taking holidays. Our next one is scheduled for Christmas break, actually. It's not a problem, really. I'm sure she'd like using you as one of her experimental models anyways. She tends to do that with my female employees…"

After Eriol decided to have his fiancé come meet his newest secretary, Sakura went back to work for the day.

Little did she know that meeting his fiancee would turn out to be more than she bargained for.

* * *

A week later

* * *

The phone on Sakura's desk rudely interrupted her thinking process. Pushing the speakerphone absent-mindedly, she answered unenthusiastically. "Hirrigizawa, Eriol's office. How can I help you?"

"There is a visitor for Hirrigizawa-san waiting for him in the lobby. Shall I send her up?"

"Does she have an appointment?" Sakura asked.

"I believe the miss is his…girlfriend," the voice on the other end hesitantly replied.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly. "Oh! Um…yes, send her up right away. Thank you."

The line cut off as Sakura got up from her chair. Eriol had told her a little while earlier that he was just going to pick up a quick lunch. She would just have to entertain his guest for a few minutes until he came back.

After patting her hair, and smoothing her clothes, she waited expectantly on the inside of the door.

Without fail, a soft tapping was heard. Reaching her hand out quickly, Sakura opened the door –

And nearly fainted.

"T-Tomoyo-chan?"

The dark-haired beauty waiting outside blinked rapidly. "Sakura-chan? Is that really you?"

A few seconds of silence passed, before both girls jumped towards each other screaming and smiling. Hugging each other with teary eyes, they both blubbered out words of nonsense over the surprise of seeing each other again.

People began to step outside their offices in the area, wondering what the commotion was about. Everyone stared wonderingly at Eriol's new secretary seemingly clinging to his well-known girlfriend.

"So Eriol's girlfriend is the same Tomoyo-chan you mentioned before, then."

Yanked out of her daze of being reunited with her childhood friend, Sakura turned around to see Xiao Lang, or Syaoran, standing outside of his office. He wore a bemused grin on his face, as he casually leaned against his door.

"You remember that?" She asked in surprise, turning to him fully. Neither of them noticed the snooping employees shift their attention from the two girls to their President and the young woman. Tomoyo's eyes held a strange gleam.

"Vaguely. I mean, I didn't think anything of it when Eriol told me his girlfriend's name. You never mentioned your friend's last name, so I just figured it was a different Tomoyo-chan."

Sakura smiled, and was about to respond, when a voice cut in.

"You're familiar with my dear Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo stepped forward and hooked her arm around Sakura's.

Xiao Lang seemed to be considering his reply, when Sakura decided it was time for her to do some catching up.

"Come on, Tomoyo-chan. You can ask Xiao Lang questions later. Let's go into Eriol-san's office and talk! He's not in right now, but he should be back in a few minutes."

Letting the excited woman drag her into the room, Tomoyo shot Syaoran a pointed glance before closed the door.

As the president turned to face his employees, his eyes turned slitted. Their speculative gazes soon turned frantic, and they quickly disappeared from the halls. Suppressing a sigh, he turned back to his office and wondered at how eventful his life had become since Sakura showed up again.

Back in the office, Sakura and Tomoyo were doing their best to catch up before Eriol came back.

They hadn't seen each other for a couple of years, since Tomoyo moved away unexpectedly. Apparently she had met Eriol in Kyoto, and moved back to the capital when they got engaged.

"Well at least now I don't have to worry about a maid of honour. I have to go make you a dress for my wedding!"

Sakura giggled. "Planing outfits for me already, Tomoyo-chan? It's only been 10 minutes!"

"Well I can't help it you're the cutest model I've had. Besides, your gown will be one of a kind that way."

Their conversation continued like this for another 10 minutes, when Sakura realized where she was.

"Oh! I wonder where Eriol-san is? He said he'd be back shortly; it isnt' like him to be gone for so long. What if I get in trouble for slacking off!"

Tomoyo smirked. "Oh please. He's not going to reprimand you for talking to me. I'm his fiancé! Besides, it's fine if he's late. We have lots to talk about, anyways."

The violet-eyed woman paused, and then her smirk grew sinister. "Speaking of which, one of the things I've been meaning to ask is your relationship with Syaoran-kun."

Sakura blinked. "Xiao Lang? What about him?"

"That's what I mean! You call him Xiao Lang, and he calls you Sakura. You guys say each other's names like you're close or something. What's the deal, Sakura-chan?"  
Sakura winced, and rose her hands defensively. "It's not what you think, Tomoyo-chan. Xiao – Li-kun and I aren't seeing each other or anything. The only reason we act so familiar is because when we met, we didn't give our last names. It's force of habit, really. I didn't know him as Li, Syaoran until a few months ago."

"Didn't give your last names? What on earth are you talking, about Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo glared at her suspiciously. "What kind of people don't give out their last names when introducing each other?"

The young woman in question sighed, and tugged on a lock of her hair. "It's just…the situation was kind of weird. It was a long time ago, and I had no idea who he was. To me, he was just a guy who had a beer. And I was just some distraught girl who wanted to drown my sorrows with alcohol. We didn't see a need for last names. I don't know why he decided to tell me his Chinese name, though. I wasn't aware he had a Japanese name."

Tomoyo's eyes slowly widened as she listened to Sakura's explanation. "But you've never touched a beer in ages! I made you try one, and you told me it was the most disgusting thing you'd ever tasted. Why would you ask someone for a beer? How come I don't know about this!"

"Tomoyo-chan…it was my eighteenth birthday. I didn't want you to know what had happened that night."

"But you told me you were spending it with your family…" Her friend frowned. "You lied."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you with such trivial things. I knew what your family thought about me; it was easier to pretend that nothing was wrong. It's not important now, anyways. That years ago, Tomoyo-chan. Things are different now!"

Tomoyo smiled softly. "Yes, they are." She grinned then, and reached a hand out to Sakura. "I'm glad I found you again, Sak-chan."

"Me too. It's good to know you've been doing well." Sakura was about to offer Tomoyo something to drink, when she looked at the clock. Frowning, she looked towards the door. "Eriol-san really should be back by now, though…I'm starting to get worried."

"How long has he been gone?"

"Over half an hour. He was only going to pick something up for lunch and head back. If anything came up, he should've called. Maybe I should ask Xiao Lang if he knows what's happening…"

Tomoyo winked coyly. "So you still haven't answered my question. What exactly is your relationship with Syaoran-kun, hm?"

"I told you it's not what you think! We're just…acquaintances. Friends, guess. That's it. Stop implying things, Tomoyo-chan. You might give Xiao – Li-kun the wrong idea." Sakura's face was slowly growing redder as she went to open the door. "Come on, let's just go ask and see if he knows where Eriol-san is."

Tomoyo sighed in disappointment. "Too bad…"

They walked out of the office together, and Sakura knocked lightly on Syaoran's door. "Xiao Lang? It's Sakura and Tomoyo-chan."

A low voice telling them to come in was heard behind the door.

When the women walked inside, they both stared at the scene inside.

Syaoran was sitting at his desk, leaning forward and looking at them with a slight tilt to his mouth. In front of him sat Eriol, who had turned around at their entrance. With a slightly guilty look about him, he quickly stood up to greet Tomoyo.

"Sweetheart, I'm so glad you could make it!"

His fiance merely raised her eyebrows, and ignored his honeyed tones. "And where were you all this time, hm?"

"Eriol-san!" Sakura exclaimed in annoyance. "We were worried about you! When you didn't tell me you'd come back, I was wondering where you were. You should've told us that you'd already come back!"

"Sorry, Sakura-san," Eriol apologized, and ran a hand through his hair his hair. "Syaoran caught me as I was walking into the building, and, um…informed me of the situation. I thought I'd give you guys some time to, uh, catch up."

Tomoyo looked unconvinced. "You still could've told us you'd come back. You made Sakura-chan worry."

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo! I promise I won't do it again, alright?" He grinned, and pointed to his mouth. "Now about a kiss?"

Huffing in protest, Tomoyo nevertheless advanced towards Eriol. They quickly kissed before turning to Syaoran and Sakura who now stood together smiling at the couple.

"You guys are so cute!" Sakura squealed.

Tomoyo laughed, while Eriol looked a little red in the face. "Isn't that my line, Sakura-chan?"

The woman shrugged, and turned to Syaoran. "So what did you guys talk about while we were gone?"

To this, Syaoran smiled widely. "Actually, Eriol and I were talking about - "

"We were planning to go out to dinner with everyone this weekend; Just the four of us, on a Friday night. How does that sound, Sakura-san?"

"Oh." The young woman seemed surprised at this, and paused before answering. "I suppose that's fine. I don't think I have anything planned…where are we going?"  
Eriol grinned. "The - "

"It's a surprise," Syaoran quickly intervened. "Dress nicely, though. That goes for both of you." The man looked at Tomoyo and smirked. "Nothing too revealing, Tomoyo-san. We wouldn't want Eriol to be…distracted during dinner."

The ebony-haired girl glared at him, as Sakura gasped. "Xiao Lang! You shouldn't say things like that!"

Syaoran looked skeptical. "I've done worse things, Sakura. Don't worry." He patted her head, and went back to sit down at his desk. "Now all of you out! It's time to get back to work."

Eriol snorted. "The president speaks. Yes, sir."

Sakura went red, and ducked her head. A flashback of their suggestive dancing about a year ago flickered in her head. "Of course, Xiao – Li-san."

Everyone raised their eyebrows at this, before Tomoyo ended it. "Alright everyone, you heard the man; let's head out."

That was the best day Sakura had had since her 21st birthday.

* * *

A/N: And I'll leave the rest to your wonderful imaginations. ;D Basically, the next chapter will be the conclusion. Since this is kind of half drabble half normal, there's a lot of gaps in between that have implications of what might've happened. Anyways, the last chapter might take a few weeks, so bear with me. R&R!


	5. The Last Time and PLace

A/N: I apologize for the extreme delay of this chapter, especially since it's the last one. I just couldn't bring myself to end it. I could never think of the right ending, and the first draft I did of this I scrapped completely. Xp Even now, I don't feel satisfied with the way things were wrapped up, but I hope it's enough to please you guys anyways. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: If I had a million dollars, I'd buy CCS. (I'd probably need more than that though). XD

* * *

They were getting married.

If she thought about it, they really shouldn't have put it off for so long. They had been engaged for over a year now.

He was a good catch too; Handsome, smart, wealthy. And he loved her, she knew. Nobody had looked at her the way he did.

Sakura sighed in contentment. She was glad everything had ended happily for them.

"Sakura-chan!"

Tomoyo was running down the hallway, being careful not to trip over her dress as she frantically looked for her best friend.

"Over here, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura stepped out from one of the dressing rooms, a curling iron in her hand. "What is it?"

"The flowers! I can't find your bouquet! You can't go down the aisle without your bouquet!"

"I saw them a little while ago, I'm sure they wouldn't have gotten far. The florist probably just put them down somewhere out of the way until we needed them."

"But they didn't tell me! And the wedding is starting in 15 minutes!" Tomoyo looked left and right, as if the flowers would magically appear in front of her.

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "Tomoyo-chan, you just worry about your own role. I'll go look for the flowers, okay? It's not like anyone will be looking at me anyways."

"Of course they will! You'll be the first one to go down the aisle! And you're absolutely gorgeous! I made sure to pick the dress that would bring out your best features!"

"Tomoyo-chan, they'll be looking behind me. You're the center of attention today, silly. Nobody cares about the maid of honour."

Tomoyo looked offended. "Well I do. And I won't have my maid of honour going down the aisle without a bouquet!"

"I told you I'd go look for them. Now go! I'm sure your mother is looking for you by now. Everyone's been seated. This is your big day, Tomoyo-chan!"

"I know, I know. Alright, I'll see you up there." Tomoyo swiftly hugged her best friend, and scurried off in search of her mother. "Make sure you don't walk to quickly, Sakura-chan!" She yelled back, almost out of earshot."

Sakura just giggled and went back inside the changing room. "Now, where did those flowers get to…?"

* * *

Everything turned out perfectly of course. Well, everything that was important anyways. Eriol and Tomoyo delivered their vows without any tripping of words. Tomoyo's mother cried almost the whole time. The bride herself looked beautiful, of course. Tomoyo had always been an attractive girl, but on this day she practically shone. Her happiness seemed to bounce off every surface.

And now was the time of celebration.

Sakura looked out at the crowd as people danced around the floor. She sipped slowly on her drink, and gazed at the Bride and Groom. They looked great together.

"Sakura."

The woman quickly turned, and smiled at the man walking up to her. "Xiao Lang."

He smiled in return, and took the seat next to her. "Enjoying yourself so far?"

"Yes!" Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "I've never seen Tomoyo-chan so happy before. I know Eriol-san will take good care of her."

Syaoran looked out at his friend, and smiled in agreement. "He really is a good guy. I'm glad he met Tomoyo."

"Me too."

"Would you like to dance?"

Sakura blinked at him in surprise, a grin slowly appearing on her face. "Of course!"

It wasn't a big deal, really; her dancing with him. They had danced before, after all. Perhaps it was the environment that inspired his sudden behaviour. Or maybe he just felt it was the right time.

"Sakura."

She craned her neck to look up at him, as they swirled across the floor. "Yes?"

They had been dancing for awhile now, and their proximity was not helping Syaoran to rearrange his thoughts like he wanted. "I Just…"

As he trailed off, and failed to continue, Sakura decided a little prompting was in order. "Xiao Lang? What is it?"

He finally just smiled a little awkwardly, and shook his head. "Nothing, really; it's just this:" And then he leaned down before she could say anything else.

At this point, Sakura was surprised. She wasn't against the idea of kissing him, though. In fact, she was quite enjoying herself before she heard a very familiar voice squealing in excitement somewhere behind her.

Quickly breaking off the kiss, Sakura turned away to find the source of the scream. Of course it was Tomoyo.

"Oh, great," she heard Syaoran sigh behind her.

Blushing suddenly, she realized that she was still in public, and very much being watched by the majority of the dance floor. Embarrassed to be caught in such a situation, she quickly excused herself (much to Syaoran's dismay), and scurried off towards the bathroom, Tomoyo hot on her heels.

"So, Sakura-chan. Do I sense another wedding on its way?" Tomoyo said as she entered the bathroom after Sakura.

The girl in question was now the colour of a tomato. Attempting a scowl, she shook her head. "Don't be silly, Tomoyo-chan. It was just a kiss. Hardly a cause for wedding plans."

"Hah! I've seen you two eyeing each other practically since the day you started working for Eriol. It was just a matter of time before he made his move. I have to admit though; Li-kun sure took his time."

"I don't know, maybe it was just the heat of the moment. I don't see why Xiao Lang would be interested in someone like me. I'm hardly at his level of social status."

Tomoyo scoffed. "Oh please, since when has Li-kun cared about something like that? You've heard him say plenty of time to his friends that he doesn't care who his wife is, as long as he loves her."

"Yes, well. It's not like he's in love with me. Not that I can tell at least."

"If not, he's well on his way, Sakura-chan. Trust me on this."

Sakura only blushed, and refused to answer.

"You might want to get back out there, by the way. It's not good to leave a poor man hanging after that. He probably thinks you're mad at him or something. From what I hear, Li-kun can be pretty sensitive at some times. He might take your hasty departure as rejection."

"Oh!" Sakura gasped as the realization occurred to her, and covered her mouth in a horrified manner. "But I don't know what to say to him!"

Tomoyo smirked. "How about 'can we start where we left off?'"

"Tomoyo-chan!"

"I'm sure he wouldn't object." Tomoyo shrugged, and turned to leave. "Better hurry before he's completely convinced of rejection."

Gathering up her courage, Sakura opened the door back to the dance floor, and went to look for Syaoran.

A few minutes later, she found him standing with Eriol. They seemed to be in serious conversation, and she wasn't sure she should interrupt. However, Eriol quickly spotted her hovering nearby, and indicated to Syaoran that he was leaving.

Feeling nervous again, Sakura couldn't seem to look Syaoran in the eye. "Hey…"

``Hi," he replied shortly.

They stood in front of each other for a few awkward moments, before Sakura finally found her voice again.

"I'm sorry for leaving like that all of the sudden. I wasn't mad or anything. I just…kind of freaked out I guess."

Syaoran winced a bit. "I should apologize too. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."

"No!" Sakura exclaimed, and then blushed when he looked down at her. "I mean, you have no reason to apologize. That is to say, I didn't mind, uh…"

His worried expression quickly turned to amusement as he realized what she was trying to say. "You didn't mind what, Sakura?"

Her face quickly resembled a tomato again, as she realized what she had to put into words. "I didn't mind, you know...what you did."

"What did I do?"

She suddenly glared up at him, knowing what he was trying to do. "You know very well what you did, Xiao Lang! Stop teasing me!"

"Okay," he said, bending down.

And neither Sakura nor Syaoran were able to say anything for awhile after that.

* * *

A/N: TADA~ it's done! I don't know if I'll write any more fanfiction after this. Reading already takes up a lot of my time. Hahah. But if you do want me to write any more CCS fanfics, they probably won't be any more except drabbles since full length chapters would take too much time to update on a regular basis. Then both you and I would get frustrated.

Anyways. Hope you enjoyed that little idea I had. Thank you for the reviews! :3

-Hoa


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